MIT Names Chad Martinovich Head Football Coach

Apr 15, 2009

April 15, 2009

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - On Wednesday, MIT
Director of Athletics Julie Soriero announced the hiring of Chad
Martinovich to serve as the second head coach in the history of the
MIT football program. Martinovich makes the trek to Cambridge from
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), where he was the Defensive
Coordinator for the last four years.

Martinovich takes over the reins from long-time head coach Dwight Smith,
who retired from coaching following a strong campaign in which he
earned NEFC Coach of the Year honors for the second time. Smith had
been with the program since its return to the club ranks in 1978,
and guided the Engineers into their first varsity game in 1988.

Although change at the top has been infrequent for the grid
program, Martinovich is poised to make an immediate impact with the
Cardinal and Gray. At RPI, Martinovich's defense ranked first in
the Liberty League three straight years, while the team qualified
for the NCAA Championship Tournament in 2007. In the other three
seasons Martinovich spent commanding the Raiders' defensive corps,
RPI were ECAC Bowl champions.

"Chad will bring a dynamic personality and a strong work ethic
to our program. His enthusiasm and passion for building our program
will be evident from the first day and I believe the
student-athletes who play for him at MIT will be motivated to
succeed and build on our history."

In 2004, Martinovich joined the RPI staff as the Offensive
Coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Although Martinovich started
his career on the defensive side of the ball, he served as the
receivers coach at the University of Albany in 1997, before
accepting Offensive Coordinator positions at Swarthmore College
(1998-00) and Hamilton College (2001-03). Martinovich has coached
several All-Americans, numerous All-Conference performers, and had
a player earn a spot at an NFL training camp.

"I'm excited and really looking forward to being part of the MIT
family," said Martinovich. "It's a tremendous honor to follow in
Coach Smith's footsteps, and I am eager to bring the alums into the
fold as soon as possible. Collectively, we aim to build on the
program's solid foundation, and take MIT football to new heights by
delivering a great product on and off the field."